Removable bushing



Jan. 30, 1940. L. F. HoBl-:ART 2,188,596

REMOVABLE BUSHING Filed May 5, 1939 lllll Illlilllllllllll ,www IIIIII Patented Jan. 30, 1940 Unire erases iDATENT OFFiCE REMVABLE RUSHING Application May 5, 1939, Serial No. 271,930

5 Claims.

The present invention relates' to removable bushings which are adapted to be inserted in openings in sign faces and similar walls. Such devices usually comprise an annular body oi in- 5 sulating material such porcelain, the body having a flange on one side adapted to cover the opening and having annuliir portion projecting through the opening. It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a l() device of this' character with a clamping wire which is insertable through a keyhole type oi opening and adapted to turn with the bushing so as to lock the bushing in place.

In devices of the type described it is a difficult matter'to secure the bushing so that it will not be loose after it is mounted in piace. My invention .contemplates a clamping wire construction which is capable of holding the ange of the bushing rmly against the wall around the opening and which can be mounted from the outside of the sign casing Without the use of any special tools.

The features and advantages the present invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to 'ce understood, however, that the drawing and description are illustrative only, and are not to be taken as limitto ing the invention except insofar as' it is limited i by the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view looking at the back side of a Wall showing a bushing mounted in place;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the parts at the beginning of the mounting operation;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig, 3, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the present invention is embodied in a porcelain bushing l!) and a clamping Wire l E by which the bushing is secured to a wall i2. These bushings are particularly applicable to installations where electrical devices pass through a metal. wall and it is desired to close the space between the electrical device and the wall by means of an insulating material.

'Ihe invention is particularly applicable to the mounting of bushings in a sign face. It is, however, not so limited, as it may be applied wherever it is desirable to mount a flange in a keyhole opening through a wall. term keyhole opening, I mean an opening which is generally circular, such as the opening i3 shown in the Wall l2, but which opening has a notch ifi in the periphery thereof.

The bushing Il] in the present instance comprises a flange portion i5 which is adapted 4Vto overlie the edge of the wall around the opening i3 and completely cover it. The bushing has a body portion it which is circular in shape and which is adapted to extend through the opening i3. The body portion I@ is provided with a groove il adjacent the flange portion I5. This groove l'l is shown as extending through the circumference of the bushing. This is not necessary, however, as will be readily appreciated. ri'lie groove l has its wall i8 bevelled or sloped outwardly away from the flange l for a purpose wif.v h will presently appear.

The bushing iii is adapted to be secured in the opening i3 by the clamping wire il. This wire is 'preferably a sprinfT wire and is adapted to extend around the body portion I6 for more than one-half oi its circumference. The resilient nature of the wire causes it to tend to move into the bottom oi the groove il', since it is originally bent to such a size as to place it under tension when it lis .mounted on the body portion i6,

The clamping Wire H is shown as provided with three radially projecting portions 20, 2| and 22. The portion 2E) is an end of the Wire and lies in the plane of the clamping Wire. The portions 2| and 22 comprise loops formed in the clamping wire and generally lying in the plane of the clamping wire. The loop 2l has a portion 23 which is curved away from the plane of the clamping Wire. This portion 23 lies entirely on one side of the loop 2l so that the extreme outer tip 24 of the loop is in the plane of the clamping wire. A similar curved portion 25 is provided on the loop 22. The amount of curvature given to the portions 23 and 25 is sufiicient to enable them to act as leading edges that will climb over the wall l2 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

As seen in Fig. 3, the curved portion 23 is just beginning to overlap at the adjacent edge 26 of the wall I2. By continuing rotation of the bushelement By the ing I0 and the clamping wire in the direction inf dicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, the loop 2| will be forced to climb over the wall l2. This will press the wall against the flange l5 and at the same time cause the clamping wire to be forced outwardly along the bevelled surface I8 of the groove v i I1. As the bushing and wire are turned, the loop 22 will pass through the reduced portion I4 of the opening I3 and ride over the wall I2 in the same manner as loop 2I. The projection 20 will then be forced out suiiiciently to readily ride over the wall I2 when the projection reaches the opening I4. The spring tension of the clamping wire continuously acts to urge it into the bottom of the groove I 1. The end projection 20 has a curved portion 20a which isvlike the portions 23 and 25 on the loops 2| and 22. portion I5 rmly against the wall I2 and prevents any rattling or looseness of the bushing in the wall.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the construction and operation of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A removable bushing of the character described having a flange portion adapted to cover the edge around a keyhole opening in a wall, said bushing having a body portion substantially smaller than said flange portion and adapted to pass through the aforesaid opening, the periphery of said body portion having a groove to receive a clamping wire, and a clamping wire around said body portion, said wire having radially projecting portions which terminate short of the periphery of said ange portion of the bushing, one of said radially projecting portions comprising a loop in the plane of the clamping wire, said loop having a portion of one side turned out of the plane of the clamping Wire intermediate its ends, whereby to provide a leading edge that will ride over the edge of said keyhole opening.

2. A removable bushing of the character described having a flange portion adapted to cover the edge around a keyhole opening in a wall, said bushing having a body portion substantially smaller than said flange portion and adapted to pass through the aforesaid opening, the periphery of said body portion having a groove to receive a clamping wire, and a clamping wire around said body portion, said wire having radially projecting portions which terminate short of the periphery of said flange portion of the bushing, one of said radially projecting portions comprising a loop in the plane of the clamping wire, said loop having This holds the flangey a portion of one side turned out of the plane of the clamping wire intermediate its ends, whereby to provide a leading edge that will ride over the edge of said keyhole opening, the wall of said groove which faces the iiange portion being bevelled.

3. A removable bushing of the character described having a flange portion adapted to cover the edge -around a keyhole opening in a wall, said bushing having a body portion substantially smaller than said flange portion and adapted to pass through the aforesaid opening, the periphery of said body portion having a `groove to receive a clamping wire, and a spring clamping wire under tension around said body portion, said wire having radially projecting portions which terminate short of the periphery of said ange portion of the bushing, one of said radially projecting portions comprising a loop in the plane of the clamping wire, said loop havinga portion of one side turned out of the plane of the clamping wire intermediate its ends, whereby to provide a leading edge that will ride over the edge of said keyhole opening, the Wall of said groove which faces the ilange portion being bevelled.

4. A device of the character described adapted for mounting in a keyhole opening in a wall, said device comprising a body portion adapted to pass through said opening, a ange portion `thereon adapted to cover said opening, said body portion having a groove in the periphery thereof, a spring wire in saidy groove, said Wire having a radially projecting loop one side of which is turned up intermediate its ends whereby to provide a leading edge that will ride over the edge of said keyhole opening.

5. A device of the character described adapted for mounting in a keyhole opening in a wall, said device comprising a body portion adapted to pass through said opening, a iiange portion thereon adapted to cover said opening, said body portion having a groove in the periphery thereof, a spring wire in said groove, said wire having a radially projecting loop one side ofv which is turned up intermediate its ends whereby to provide a leading edge that will ride over the edge of said keyhole opening, the wall of said groove which faces the flange portion being bevelled.

LEROY F. HOBERT. 

